Welcome to The E-Sylum: Volume 4, Number 35, August 26, 2001:
an electronic publication of the Numismatic Bibliomania Society.
Copyright (c) 2001, The Numismatic Bibliomania Society.
SUBSCRIBER UPDATES
We have two new subscribers this week: Richard Robinson,
and Mark Lighterman, President of Florida United Numismatists,
(thanks to John and Nancy Wilson). Welcome aboard! Our
subscriber count is now 418.
ANA LITERATURE EXHIBIT WINNERS
At the recently-concluded convention of the American
Numismatic Association in Atlanta, Georgia, the winning
exhibits in Class 22: Numismatic Literature were:
First-Place - David Sklow, "ANA Membership: The Printed
Record"
Second-Place - David G. Provost, "US Commemorative
Coin Advertisements of 1937"
Third-Place - Pete Smith, "Contemporary Illustrations of
the Second Philadelphia Mint
OROSZ WINS HEATH LITERARY AWARDS
Congratulations to NBS Historian and board member
Joel Orosz, who bagged not one, but TWO Heath Literary
Awards! From the press release by the American
Numismatic Association:
"The Heath Literary Award, introduced in 1949 and named
for George Heath, ANA founder and the first editor of The
Numismatist, recognizes outstanding articles published in the
last year in the journal.
The first-place Heath Literary Award went to Joel J. Orosz
of Kalamazoo, Michigan, for "Gilmor and the 1804 Silver
Dollars," published in the June 2000 issue. For this distinction,
he received an engraved silver medal, certificate and $250
cash prize.
Also presented to Orosz was the second-place award - an
engraved, bronze medal, a certificate and a $100 cash prize -
for "The Curious Case of the Collectors Kline" published in
the October 2000 issue."
In response to my congratulatory message, Orosz wrote:
"It really came as a shock to me, since I've never even placed
before--and to go 1-2 really was icing. Now that you mention
it, I can't recall anyone ever winning two Heaths--although it
could have been done before mere kids like us were on the
scene.
By the way, the E-Sylum keeps getting more spectacular --
but it must be eating more of your time as a result. Hopefully,
you have a little more of that now that you've passed the torch
on to Pete."
[Not really, but time flies when you're having fun. It's always
a pleasure to open my mailbox and find correspondence from
E-Sylum subscribers. You're the stars of the show. -Editor]
GROLIER CLUB EXHIBIT
Bob Leonard writes: "I don't think Dave Bowers is being
entirely fair in criticizing the "Numismatics in the Age of Grolier"
exhibit for ignoring American numismatic literature. After all,
Jean Grolier died in 1565 -- 20 years before the first English
settlement in America was planted by Sir Walter Raleigh.
Even the Sommer Islands Hogge money was not issued until
over half a century after his death. The scope of the exhibit is
numismatic books published during Grolier's lifetime, or very
shortly thereafter."
Asylum Editor Tom Fort agrees, noting, "The exhibit is NOT
ignoring American numismatic literature -- there WAS no
American numismatic literature during that period." He goes
on to address Bowers' note about the participation of the
"AMERICAN Numismatic Society." He writes: "The ANS
was not founded as the Society for the Study of American
Numismatics. It is a society in the U.S. dedicated to
numismatics in general and its journals have accepted learned
works on all topics dealing with any branch of numismatics.
Also, I should point out that there are a number of numismatic
literature collectors, including myself, who are not as interested
in American numismatic literature as Mr. Bowers. Frankly,
I would much rather see a display on the numismatic works
of Edward Gibbon, the Vicomte Ponton d'Amecourt or
Michael Dolley than Sylvester Crosby, Ard Browning or
Walter Breen. Mr. Bowers would obviously disagree with me
since our tastes differ so much. He is welcome to that
disagreement and I encourage it, variety is what makes the
NBS a great society.
A high level exhibit on American numismatic literature would
be a truly wonderful thing. If those with power, money
(especially this) and influence in the numismatic, academic
and museum world can get some institution to mount one
you have my full support.'"
SUBSCRIBER PROFILE: RICHARD ROBINSON
Richard Robinson of Melbourne, Australia writes: "I saw a
reference to The E-Sylum on the WINS mailing list and
have found reading some of the archived editions very
interesting.
I am a collector of Ceylon (pre-independence) coins with
a general but real interest in all things pertaining to
numismatics."
UNLISTED FROSSARD CATALOG DISCOVERED
David Fanning writes: "Well, the gang at the E-Sylum came
through for me with the info I needed. Please include the
following in next week's edition:
At the ANA this year, I discovered a previously unlisted
sale catalogued by Edouard Frossard. The sale is numbered
88, but is a different sale than that listed in Adams as sale 88.
[United States Numismatic Literature Volume I: Nineteenth
Century Auction Catalogs", John W. Adams, 1982, revised
2001 - Editor]
I have verified that the listing in Adams is not in error; thus,
as with Frossard's sale 103, we must come to the conclusion
that more than one sale was inadvertently given the same
number. The listing for this catalogue is as follows:
Sale 88
November 22-23, 1888
406 lots as listed in 404 (plus a 53a and 390*)
Catalogue of a Fine and Varied European Collection of
Genuine Antiquities, Curiosities, Etc., Comprising Old Silver
Jewelry, Amber Necklaces, Arms, Aquarelles, Bronzes,
Bohemian and Stained Glass, Beads, Costumes, Daggers,
Enamels, Embroideries, Gems, Ivory Carvings, Jewelry,
Meerschaum Pipes, Old Delft Ware, Paper Cutters, Pistols,
Rugs, Reliquaries, Swords, Tapestries, etc., etc.
Sold at Leavitt & Co.'s rooms at 787-789 Broadway
As the sale is one of Frossard's non-numismatic sales, it
seems fitting that it would be graded C- for content.
Unfortunately, the sale was discovered after the publication
of Kolbe's revision to the Adams work and so is not
included in that listing.
Many thanks to those who answered my request for info,
especially the two who verified that they had the number 88
Adams lists."
INDEXING NUMISMATIC LITERATURE
In the August 13th E-Sylum (v4 #33), Granvyl G. Hulse, Jr.
wrote: "The International Numismatic Commission briefly
tried to do something similar to what is presently being
considered by listing current numismatic research, but did not
follow through.
In response, Bob Leonard writes: "This is an oversight on
Granvyl's part, surely; perhaps he is thinking only of the volume
published by the ANS. In fact, the International Numismatic
Commission has issued six editions of the Survey of Numismatic
Research, covering 1960 through 1995 inclusive, the last update
being distributed at the International Numismatic Congress in
Berlin in 1997. The next update is expected to be available at
the XIII Congresso Internacional de Numismatica in Madrid,
September 2003, covering research from 1996 through 2001
or 2002. I have found these to be extremely useful in my
research in ancient and oriental coins."
HAWAIIAN COINAGE REFERENCES
David Yamamoto, a web site visitor, writes: "I am looking for
early publications, articles, auction results etc. on Hawaiian
coinage and patterns (official and unofficial).
Breen wrote a segment on Hawaiian coins and patterns in one
of his earlier volumes. He mentioned a periodical that covered
patterns and so called "fantasy patterns". The periodical's title
consisted of four letters, but off hand I don't recall what they
were nor what these letters represented. Would you happen to
know? I think the first letter was a C."
[Your editor is stumped - can any of our E-Sylum readers
help?]
THE WIZARD OF OZ IN NUMISMATICS
Last's week's discussion of the new Schornstein book on
Bryan Money raised a number of questions about the origin
of the theory regarding parallels to the 1890's gold and silver
question in L. Frank Baum's Wizard of Oz.
Bill Bischoff writes: "For what it's worth, I discussed with
Walter Breen by telephone in the early spring of 1989 the
possibility that he might be willing to talk at the forthcoming
COAC on gold, which I was then involved in organizing. We
talked for at least an hour, and all the allegories you mention
were already part of his conceptual framework. So, unless he
was in contact with Hugh Rockoff, Breen's ideas go back to
"an article titled 'The Wizard of Oz: Parable on Populism' by
Henry M. Littlefield in American Quarterly 16 (Spring 1964),
pp. 47-58." I don't know if Rockoff cites Breen, but it would
have been appropriate, since Breen's remarks were delivered
in the late fall of 1989, before the Rockoff book came out."
Mark Rabinowitz writes: "In this issue of the E-Sylum, my first
via regular distribution, you have a note about the Wizard of Oz
parallels which raises some interesting questions. A book I just
finished, Peter L. Bernstein's "The Power of Gold: The History
of an Obsession" (which, by the way, I heartily recommend to
E-Sylum readers if they have not already read it), also notes the
parallels and cites the same Rockoff article. In addition to the
Yellow Brick Road representing the Gold Standard and the
other parallels you mentioned, Bernstein also notes the following:
Land of Oz (ounce) = the east, "where gold is the favorite"
The cyclone which comes from the west = the movement for
unlimited coinage of silver
Dorothy = the plucky, kindhearted American who represents
the little people against the moguls of finance
Emerald City = Washington
The Wizard = the personification of humbug
Unfortunately I don't have the answers to the questions you
raised, but thinking about this some more, I have another
question: is it merely a coincidence that just a year or so after
the U.S. went off gold in 1971, freeing all currencies to float,
Elton John released the song, "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road?"
"Oh, I've finally decided my future lies / beyond the yellow
brick road."
WORDS ON WEALTH
Michael E. Marotta writes: "We all know that "pecu" for cow
is the root of "pecuniary." In fact, the German word "das Vieh"
(pronounced "fee") has the same entendre. The words "yield"
and "gold" share a common root because gold is the color of
wheat when it is ripe. Merchant, meretricious, merit, marriage,
marine and many more share a common source concept
personified by Mercury. A person of merit is often talented.
Before the Biblical parable of the talents, the word talent only
referred to a weight of metal. In telling the story, Jesus
exhorted us to maximize the "talents" given to us by our Master
in heaven.
It is easy to equate "seal," "sheqel," and "siglos." However,
"cash" in its two senses has two different origins. The western
word for ready money is equivalent to "case." The name of the
Chinese coin has a different origin entirely. The ancient Chinese
use of the cowerie shell was most likely the first fiduciary
money. In the kanji ideograms of Japanese many "money"
words -- "boxing match" i.e., "prize fight" -- have this symbol
in their written forms, including "precious metal." In other
words, the pre-existing idea of cowerie as money is a modifier
for metal that conveys the idea of metal as money."
EARLIEST USE OF PHOTOS IN A NUMISMATIC BOOK?
Hadrien Rambach writes: "Jean-Baptiste GIARD wrote this in
an article : "La bibliothèque de Carcassonne possède un ouvrage
de l'abbé L. VERGUET, Photographie appliquée à la
numismatique. Monnaies romaines. Monnaies consulaires et des
familles romaines..., Carcassonne, 1864, illustré de nombreuses
photographies. L'auteur [...] s'est contenté de coller directement
de simples photographies dans le texte."
(Carcassonne's library owns a book by the abbot L. VERGUET,
photographie appliquée à la numismatique. Monnaies romaines.
Monnaies consulaires et des familles romaines..., Carcassonne,
1864, illustrated with many photographs. The author [...] simply
glued real photographs in the text.)
("Critique de la science des monnaies antiques", in "Journal des
Savants", juillet-septembre 1980, pp. 225-245)
If it is not the very first one, it is undoubtedly one of the
earliest."
The same topic prompted Karl Moulton to write: "Although not
directly related to numismatics, it may be of interest to our
readership to know that the earliest surviving photograph ever
taken in America was taken from the second floor of the second
United States Mint building by Mr. Joseph Saxton (Mint service
1837-1843).
Saxton, one of the unsung mechanical engineers at the Mint,
had read about Frenchman Louis Daguerre's stunning
photographic results in the summer of 1839 and decided to
try his luck, especially since he had all of the necessary materials
and chemicals at his disposal. In October of 1839, Saxton
pointed an unknown camera device from his workshop window
toward the original Central High School for Boys, and the
Pennsylvania State Arsenal, which were located across the
street in Center (now Penn) Square.
After developing, the image was rather small and fuzzy; but,
nonetheless, it was a recognizable one. This Daguerreotype
is housed in the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, and is
plated in the very interesting 1976 book "OLD PHILADELPHIA
IN EARLY PHOTOGRAPHS 1839-1914", by Robert F.
Looney.
This volume has been a valuable addition to my reference
library; and yes, it does contain pictures of the first and second
U.S. Mint buildings. I might add that it really brings home the
daily living conditions around Philadelphia during the 19th
century, and it makes the remarkable craftsmanship of the
workers at the Mint that much more amazing."
Moulton adds: "As to Mr. Graver, I believe he is on the
wrong subject. He should be researching people like Robert
Scot, William Kneass, Christian Gobrecht, James Longacre,
etc. He's a natural with a name like "N. Graver"
SAN FRANCISCO MINT UPDATE
Rich Kelly & Nancy Oliver write: "We wanted to thank you
for putting a few tidbits about our book in your recent
e-newsletter -- it was a very pleasant surprise.
We also wanted to let you know that we learned that the
Mayor of San Francisco, Willie Brown, recently set up a
task force to study uses for the Old Mint. They will spend
about a year going over ways to re-open the building to
accommodate both commercial and educational endeavors.
We are very excited at the prospect of the building being
re-opened to the public in the near future. Articles concerning
the mint task force can be found in the San Francisco
Chronicle on Tuesday, May 22, 2001 and Thursday,
August 2, 2001.
Also, we are progressing well with our new book on Mint
Worker J. B. Harmstead. We think many people will be
very surprised at some of the revealing information in our
new book. It will not be completed until sometime next
year but perhaps we will send a few tidbits to you along
the way if you like. We would be happy to share them
with your readers too.
We have enjoyed receiving your newsletters and want to
thank you for inviting us to be a part of your community."
[Editor's note: the San Francisco Chronicle articles
mentioned above are still available on the newspaper's
web site (http://www.sfgate.com/). Go to "Archive",
enter a date range, an look for "Mint" in the headline.
From the May 22nd article:
"The federal government and the city hope to take a
major step forward this week toward reopening San
Francisco's venerable Old Mint, one of the city's
grandest landmarks, and its most neglected.
Once the most splendid government building in the
West, the Old Mint has turned into a battered relic
of what it once was, empty and abandoned, like a
ruin in the middle of the city."]
FEATURED WEB SITE
This week's featured web site is Bob Johnson's COINSHEET
Numismatic Directory. We referenced this site in v2 no9
(March 1, 1999). The URL is now as follows:
http://www.coinsheetlinks.com
Wayne Homren
Numismatic Bibliomania Society

Content presented in The E-Sylum is not necessarily researched or independently fact-checked, and views expressed do not necessarily represent those of the
Numismatic Bibliomania Society.

The Numismatic Bibliomania Society is a non-profit organization promoting numismatic literature. For more information please see
our web site at http://www.coinbooks.org/ There is a membership application available on the web site. To join, print the application and
return it with your check to the address printed on the application. Visit the Membership page.
Those wishing to become new E-Sylum subscribers (or wishing to Unsubscribe) can go to the following web page link.